Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. Navy received more than 150 airships for the war effort. The military used these blimps, produced by the Goodyear Corporation, as convoy escort vessels. The Navy used them to spot enemy submarines and drop depth charges on those they encountered. But of all the airships utilized during World War [...]
Louis Blériot is famous for being the first to fly between continental Europe and Great Britain. We recently featured his Blériot XI in our Plane of the Week series! But this man’s life started out as an inventor. Blériot’s Early Years Born in France on July 1, 1872, his career in aviation was funded by [...]
Do You Want to Believe? Planes aren’t always the only things flying in the sky. We’ve got helicopters, blimps, weather balloons, lost kites… and every once in a while, some eye spies something that’s not so easily identifiable. These are known as UFOs: unidentified flying objects. For some, UFOs are as American as baseball, apple [...]
In 1910, a woman set out in an automobile across the country to prove that women were well-equipped to drive automobiles. This feat made her the second woman to drive across the United States. Several months later, she also became the first American woman to take a solo hop into the air. Blanche Stuart Scott [...]
While troops were fighting in the air and on the land of foreign countries, groups of women worked on farmlands to replace them. These women played an important role during the war, and so many things might have been different if it weren’t for their hard work and service. Upon discovering the BBC show Land Girls, [...]
Model airplanes allow children and adults to get up-close and personal with aviation without becoming a pilot or buying a plane ticket. Models made to scale can mark the beginning of a journey into aviation through its history and fascinating stories associated with real life versions of a plane. Assembling model airplanes requires patience, skill, [...]
When we hear James Stewart’s name, we often think of his acting career; we particularly think of his role in It’s a Wonderful Life. I mean, who doesn’t love that movie? But did you know that he was the first Hollywood star to wear a military uniform during World War II? James Stewart is one [...]
Air shows have a rich history. Since man first learned to fly, airplanes--and aerial stunts--have wowed crowds of people on the ground. For many people in the early 20th century, flying was unreal. It didn't seem possible and seeing was believing. If you don't believe something is possible, witnessing it en masse is something truly [...]
If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster, you may have felt a sense of weightlessness followed by abrupt heaviness. Going over bumps, through corkscrews, and around loops nearing a speed of 100 mph contributes to all those sensations—it’s also why you may feel a little queasy after getting off the ride. Roller coasters cause you [...]
On September 19, 1783, a duck, a sheep, and a rooster all made history as the first passengers to ever travel through the air in a balloon. While their names didn’t go down in the history books, the names of the balloon’s inventors certainly did. The Montgolfier Brothers Beginning in France during the late 18th [...]
